About

What is Metrocosm?

DataThe Matrix is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled from a spreadsheetover your eyes to show youblind you from the truth.

What is Metrocosm?

Metrocosm is my collection of maps and other data visualization projects — trying to make sense of the world through numbers.

Who am I?

Hi. I’m Max Galka, a guy who is fascinated by data.

My latest project Elementus aims to bring transparency to the blockchain ecosystem. My other current project, FOIA Mapper, opens up hidden government databases using the Freedom of Information Act. I also teach data wrangling + data visualization at the University of Pennsylvania. And I write about data visualization as a Guardian and Huffington Post contributor. Previously, I worked for 10 years as a trader at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse

I also enjoy working on data-related projects outside of work. My fantasy football models rarely work out very well, but the Texas Hold-em program I built in college is one of the things I am most proud of.

I am also a very happy & lucky husband, an aspiring vegetarian, a feminist, an information privacy paranoid, a Wharton (M&T) alum, and a former wrestler.

If you have any questions or comments about the site or just want to say hello, please drop me a line or connect with me on on Twitter: @galka_max.

Was somewhat skeptical myself, but after reading through the research, it appears pretty conclusive that women do face discrimination at work, though it is probably not as bad as the 79% number everyone quotes. Not going to try to convince you, but if you’d like to see, I link to them at the bottom of the post.

http://metrocosm.com Max Galka

Debating issues like this online is rarely productive, but if you’d like to hear another perspective, here are my thoughts.

Christina Hoff Sommers’ argument is that the 77 cents on the dollar number is the wrong measure, which I agree with. You can explain most of that difference away by accounting for other variables, such as occupation and working hours. So people should not be pointing to that number as evidence of a pay gap.

However, it is equally wrong to conclude from this that there there is *not* a pay gap. Maybe gender discrimination is the reason why women end up in lower paying occupations. Maybe women work fewer hours because they receive less encouragement at work.

The entire idea of looking at the difference in pay and trying to explain it with different variables is a flawed approach. There are an infinite number of possible variables to account for, and no way of knowing which ones are causes and which are effects. So it cannot be conclusive either way.

The real question is whether women are discriminated against in the workplace. That is something you actually can test, by running experiments in which all variables are held equal except for gender. And every such experiment I’ve seen concludes that gender discrimination is real.

Though, I’m also open minded, and would be curious to know if there is a strong counter argument.

http://www.freshwebservices.com/ Eddie May

Gender pay gap is only one reason to be a feminist, there are plenty more reasons. Having a daughter is just one of the reasons for me.

When clicking Japan, 4 disputes are shown up including “Okino Torishima” which is, according to your statement, “an uninhabited Japanese atoll comprised of three artificial islets, each measuring about 600 square feet in size. Ownership of the islets themselves is not in dispute, but rather whether they qualify as islands under the U.N. Law of the Sea. If so, it would give Japan control of the waters surrounding the area, maritime territory that would otherwise be Chinese.”

According to my understanding and public knowledge, Okino Torishima are NOT artificial islets (unlike the pure artificial islands built on the coral by PRC in South China Sea). Plus, the final sentence should be amended as “that would otherwise be public ocean”. No Chinese at all!

Unless you are under control of PRC, better to amend.

Thanx

http://metrocosm.com Max Galka

I stand by the fact that they are artificial. Just like many of the islands in the South China Sea, some small portion originally jutted above the water, but what is there now is primarily man-made.

Perhaps you are right on the second point. Will go back to the original source and check, and if necessary, amend the text. Thanks.

Derek Clifford Gibson

Good Evening from Aberdeen Scotland. I am mainly interested in Health and Fitness with a target on obesity and was impressed by you animated world map that would be fantastic to display o my website that I have recently launched though much to be done to bring it up to scratch. Would it be possible to show your map on my website http://thetruthaboutobesity.com with a message about our site Today I had nearly 1800 clicks on facebook .

http://metrocosm.com Max Galka

I’ve been to Aberdeen, beautiful place… Sure, please feel free.

Derek Clifford Gibson

Hi Max,
Thanks very much for your kind gesture how do I show your reference with the map.
How do I show your map on my site do you have a url ?
Derek G

Derek Clifford Gibson

Hi again Max.
Do yo have the url for the obesity map Max.
Derek G

http://metrocosm.com Max Galka

Let’s take this to email: galkamaxd at gmail dot com. Please tell me what it is you would like to do with the map.

jodi Eng

Hi, I’m a data to information to wisdom kinda person. Any chance we can make a map of red, blue and non-voters? I think it would be helpful to include that statistic to better understand the outcome and the next one. Thanks!

http://metrocosm.com Max Galka

Good suggestion. Will give it a look. Thanks!

Aviram Solomon

Hi,

Very impressed with you geo coding project
i wonder if can you share the data
Thanks
Aviram

http://metrocosm.com Max Galka

Sorry Aviram – just seeing this one now. I’m not sure which project you are referring to, but if you’re still looking for it, please send me more info via the contact page and I’ll see what I can do.

Patrick Cardiff

Max, you are the man!
Nor really, you ARE the man!
I was looking for “when we started comparing campaign resources to get elected” or something like that, when did money all of a sudden “start buying seats,” in other words.
I recognize there is a grand concern with the inference here, and I’m also wary of bias from such elegant illustrations, but this definitely gave me a start!
Thanks,
Pat Cardiff

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